Christmas With The Pikes
by Deuce's Accident
Summary: After Jim pulls a Houdini at his mother's his godfather comes looking for him so the young cadet can have a real family Christmas and clear his head.


**Disclosure: **_I do not own the characters of Star Trek 2009 and this story is meant for entertainment purposes only._

The holidays were never a time that James Tiberius Kirk enjoyed. Instead of being at home with a loving family, the young man was now held up in a hotel waiting for the next available shuttle to take him back the Starfleet Academy as soon as possible. He had only been in Iowa for a day and a half but that was enough family bonding for him. His mother had been cold and distant and the blow out with his step dad had taken a turn for the violent when he shoved Jim into the kitchen counter so hard that his lower back was one giant bruise not to mention he damage the older man had done to his face. Of course his mother had blamed Jim for starting a fight when actuality all he did was walk into the room when Frank was yelling at his mother; ensuring that the young cadet would defend his mother from Franks rage, but to no avail. So here he was; sitting in the hotel room he had rented for the night since the next shuttles weren't leaving until morning, just waiting and drinking; which probably wasn't a good choice, considering he had one hell of a headache therefore concluding that he probably had a head injury to go with it. "Fucking Frank," he muttered to himself as he drained the third bottle of beer from his twelve pack and reached for another when his monitor alerted him to a message from Bones.

"Hey kiddo, I'll be back at the Academy by Sunday, I've decided to stay here in Atlanta for just a little while longer. Hope everything is good with the family and I'll see you in a week," McCoy said before the message went blank. 'Well at least I won't have to explain why I'm back after two days,' Jim thought to himself. Jim spent the remainder of his evening finishing off the twelve pack, eating a few slices of pizza and watching old movies on his monitor before he drifted off into a drunken slumber. The next morning even with his terrible hangover the young cadet pulled him himself out of his cocoon of blankets and headed to the shuttle to return to the Starfleet Academy at four am.

The trip was quiet which Jim was thankful for because he head was pounding and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't sleep. "Bout freaking time," he growled as the captain announced their arrival shortly after seven. Once he was back in his dorm room Jim wanted nothing more than to take a shower and sleep for a week but the concept of actually standing in the shower was too much for his tired and aching body, so instead he collapsed on the sofa fully clothed and let his exhaustion take over. He didn't know how long he had slept but the next thing he was aware of was someone banging on his door, "Hold on," he grumbled as he got to his feet and instantly fell when he tried to take a step. "Ow," Jim muttered to himself as he got to his feet again and kicked his bag away before making his way to the door. The incessant knocking was really beginning piss him off, "All right!" he yelled as he ripped open the door to see none other than his commanding officer and godfather Captain Christopher Pike. "Shit," Jim said with a sigh as he looked at his feet.

"You want to tell me what you're doing here?" Pike asked sternly as he walked into the dorm room. Jim took a minute before answering; Chris wasn't sure if it was because he was so hung over or if it was because he was trying to think up an excuse. "I'm waiting James."

'Ouch, James,' Kirk thought to himself. Pike only ever called him James when he had done something really stupid. "Missed this place too much," Jim tried as he took a step and tripped over a discarded tee shirt, righting himself quickly he stood to face his godfather.

Pike looked his disheveled cadet over and shook his head, "What happened Jimmy? Your mom called me frantic; you just took off in the middle of the night? What were you thinking?" Pike said as he sat down on the corner of Bones' desk.

Jim just shrugged, "Guess I wasn't," he said harshly before heading over to his fridge and taking out a beer.

Much to Jim's frustration Chris took it from his hands before he could get a drink, "Its barely noon Jim, now come on this isn't you," Pike lectured.

"Oh, please, this is classic James Kirk. Except now I get to do it alone," he snapped. "It's my vacation and if I want to spend it in my dorm room in a drunken stupor I will!"

That riled Pike up and he in one swift motion had his godson pined to the wall, "You most certainly will not! You are better than this," he said staring into Jim's piercing blue eyes and noticed a clear look of pain as well as heard the whimper that escaped his godson's lips. "Where are you hurt Jim?" he asked letting go of the young man. Jim closed his eyes and slid instantly to the ground in pain. Chris was getting a little more worried now; Jim had always had a pretty high pain tolerance, so for him to be showing clear symptoms of pain the injury must be quite severe.

"Its nothing," Kirk said getting to his feet, "I'm fine."

Pike didn't believe him for a second and Jim knew it too so he tried to push away his godfathers hands as the older man tried to find the problem. Jim let out a yelp when Chris caught his right side and lower back, "So right there, huh," Pike commented as he pulled up Jim's shirt. "Christ Almighty Jimmy, what the hell happened?" he asked pulling the shirt up farther to see the now deep purple bruising covering Jim's lower back and side. He looked closer at the young man before him and noticed the beginnings of a nasty bruise at his temple and what looked to be a hand print forming on his collarbone.

"I told you it was nothing," Jim said pulling away.

"So, a bar fight?" Pike asked but it didn't elicit a response, "Or did you wreck another one of Franks cars?" he teased but noticed how Jim flinched at the mention of the man's name. "Jim, did Frank do this to you?" he interrogated. Jim just looked away from him and tried to pull away from the Captain.

Pike let him go and the young man slid himself as far into the corner of the kitchen area as he could get and pulled his knees up to his chest tightly, despite the pain. "I'm fine, just please, leave me alone," Jim begged with tears welling up in his eyes. Chris knew instantly what had happened at home by the reaction Jim had when he mentioned Frank.

"Is that why you ran? Frank hurt you?" he asked going over to the young man. "That's why you fought me on you going to see your mother this holiday?"

Jim shook his head, "I just didn't…" he began but shook his head to keep himself from speaking any more. "Please just leave. I want to be alone," Jim said stiffly.

"Not a chance kiddo, I'm not leaving unless you come with me." His words were not making Jim happy, the young man just wanted to be alone and think about what had happened over the next few days, he had no intention of spending his time with people. "Come on Jimmy, we'll head up to the cabin, everyone should be home later today and we'll have a good holiday," Pike said trying to get the young man to get out of the corner and come with him, where he could keep a close eye on him.

The brunette boys glared at the older man, "What part of no don't you get is it the n or the o?" Jim growled.

"I don't like either, therefore I completely hate that word, but only when used against me. Now get your bag, you're coming to the house and Diane is going to fuss over you and feed you way too much and then we're going to have a great holiday. Now move!" Pike ordered making Jim jump back and smacking his already concussed head and causing it to ache even more. "Jimmy, you all right?" he asked noticing his godson blinking like he was seeing stars.

"I'm good, just need a second," he muttered as he cradled his head in his hands. Chris helped the young man up and got a better look at him once his friend's son relaxed.

The older man sighed, "Well, lets' get you back to the house before Diane freaks out and comes down here herself and we both know that we don't want that," Chris teased, making Jim smirk. "Now it's quite a drive to the cabin, do you need anything that's not in your bag?" he asked picking it up with one hand still holing Jim's bicep.

"My pillow and blanket, if that's okay," he mumbled quietly. Pike smiled at him and sat him down on the sofa while he grabbed the items and Jim tried to relax. Just as Chris touched the blanket he noticed something sticking out under the blanket and smiled when he saw it was the teddy bear that Diane had bought him when he two. Jim had been very antisocial when he was in daycare so Diane had thought that he needed a friend, someone he could always count on to be there, so she bought him a brown teddy bear and she had made a shirt for him and hoodie just like Jim's so he knew that he was his friend.

Pike folded the blanket and put the pillow on top but made sure to grab Mr. Bear too. Once they were in the car Jim sat in the passenger seat and shifted uncomfortably since he was so sore. "Do you want to lay down in the back? It might be more comfortable for your back and you can spread out, get some rest, it's a three hour drive, you might as well take advantage of it," he said before he started the car. Jim shrugged and finally agreed, "Now get some rest, it's going to be family everywhere when we get back," he said as he pulled the blanket up over Jim's shoulders as the young cadet buried his head in his pillow. The exhausted cadet nodded tiredly as he found a comfortable position, "Oh and here, you looked like you could use a friend on this trip," he said tucking the bear in with his godson.

Jim looked at his godfather and bit his bottom lip while clutching the bear to his chest, "Thanks Uncle Chris," he said tiredly before he drifted off to sleep. Chris smiled; Jim hadn't called him that in years, not even when he recruited him to Starfleet off the barroom floor two years ago.

"You're welcome kiddo," he said before he got in the driver's seat and called his wife, "We're coming home now honey, see you in three hours," he said with a smile as they got on the road.

Diane Pike sighed audibly, "How is he?" she asked with worry still clear in her voice.

"A mess, he and Frank seem to have gotten into it and Jim's banged up but he's resting now and we can get him checked over later, but for now I just want him to be safe and with us," Chris said looking in the rearview mirror at the sleeping young man.

"Well, I guess I'll see you in few hours, I'm going to go get his room ready and buy him some gifts as well as clothes, because lord know the boy probably still only owns 3 tee shirts and a pair of jeans in addition to his leather jacket and hoodie," she teased.

Chris laughed, which woke Jim briefly, "Say hi to Aunt Diane kiddo," he said looking at the back seat at the sleepy blues eyes as he put his phone on speaker.

"Hi, Aunt Diane," Jim mumbled tiredly.

"Hi baby, how are you feeling?" she asked knowing that a sleepy Jim Kirk was an honest one.

"Sore, my head hurts," he mumbled before he started to drift off again.

"Baby, what size shirts and jeans?" she asked quickly knowing that he would be out soon judging from his tone.

Jim muttered something then cleared his throat, "Medium and 32, I'm gonna go back to sleep now," he said with a yawn. "Bye."

Diane and Chris both laughed, "Okay baby, I'll see you soon," she said sweetly. "Drive safe Christopher, I want him in one piece when you get here, I love you both," she said before she and he hung up.

The rest of the drive was silent except for Jim's periodic mumbles as he slept. "Come on kiddo, up and at 'em. We're here," he said reaching back to wake his godson. Jim was too tired to comprehend what was being said so he just let his eyes fall shut again and drifted back to sleep. "Fine, stay there, I'll take everything in and come back for you," Pike said as he got out of the car with a smile before he grabbed his godson's bag and the shopping bags he had in the trunk.

As the older man was gathering the items a car pulled up alongside him. "Hey daddy," Abigail Pike said as she got out and hugged her father tightly. "Who's bag is…oh lord, you brought him home!" she squealed in shock. Chris quickly tried to quiet her before she woke Jim but Abby started to laugh; "Come on daddy, Jimmy could sleep through a nuclear war," she said opening the car door.

"Abigail Amelia Pike you leave that poor boy alone," her mother shouted from the porch steps.

Chris laughed and Abby backed away quickly as her brothers and little sister came out of the house to greet her. "Hi honey," Chris said as he kissed his wife alone.

"How long has he been out?" she asked as she leaned in the car and took a look at the bruise that was forming on her godson's neck.

"A good solid two hours, I tried to wake him before, but he just went back to sleep," Chris told her.

Diane smiled and then smoothed back Jim's messy hair, "Baby, its time to take this nap into the house," she said sweetly as she gently caressed Jim's cheek.

Slowly his eyes fluttered open revealing his piercing blue eyes, "Hi Aunt Di," Jim mumbled as he slowly started to sit up, "Ow," he mumbled to himself. Jim was in a lot of pain at the moment and he might have even consented to Bones and his obsessive use of hypos if it meant he wouldn't feel anything.

"You're okay, come on in the house honey and we'll take a look," Diane said as she helped him sit up. "Jimmy," she said trying to get his attention.

The cadet just looked up at her and bit his bottom lip, "Yeah?"

"Brads inside and I'm sure he has his kit with him, I think he might be a little more helpful than just sitting in the car." Jim took a deep breath and nodded as he heaved himself out of the back seat and stood slowly. His hangover was just a nasty headache now but he wasn't sure if it was the hangover or his concussion. "Oh speak of the devil," the older woman said as the young doctor came into sight.

The eldest of the Pike children smirked at his 'little brother,' "Nice Jimmy, you spend too much time with that Challetic girl again? Or did you pick a married girl this time?" he teased but when his father didn't even laugh he knew it was serious.

"Not exactly," James said as he limped to the house.

"How bad Jim?" he asked seriously as he pulled Jim's arm over his shoulder and helped the young man make it into the house.

"Not bad, I've had worse," he mumbled as he and Brad moved toward Jim's room alone.

"I know you have kiddo. So tell me, where exactly did you get hurt? Better yet, what the hell happened? You took one hell of a beating and it doesn't look like you fought back," Brad said as he helped Jim remove his shirt to reveal the cadets bruised torso. "Jimmy, truthfully what happened? I know you can hold your own in a bar fight and you have combat training, why didn't you defend yourself?" Brad questioned. Jim didn't say anything he just let his friend and 'brother' patch him up. "Hey,' he said bring Jim's eyes to meet his, "You can tell me anything, you know that, right?" Jim nodded but couldn't bring himself to tell the young man he had grown up with. Brad had always looked out for Jim in school, he'd taken him to his first bar and hooked him up with his first girl; he knew he could tell him anything but this wasn't something he felt he could without Brad looking at him like he was a wounded puppy.

"I've had worse," Jim said again.

"And here I thought you were spending your holiday at home with your mom and Frank…" Brad started but felt Jim tense under his gentle touch. The blonde young man looked up at his friend, "Jesus, Jimmy…Frank did this to you?" Jim bit his bottom lip hard enough to draw blood before Brad put a gentle hand on his jaw, "Its okay buddy. I get it; you couldn't fight back in front of your mom. Its' okay, you're safe here," Brad soothed as he finished cleaning Jim's wounds. "Now, I'm gonna get some ice for your back, do you want to shower first?"

Jim thought about it for a minute and nodded, "Yeah, I was too tired earlier," he said nervously.

"Okay, well, use luke warm water, I don't want to counter act the ice. Just shout if you need something, I'll be just outside," Brad said before he left Jim to shower.

In the kitchen Chris and the rest of the family were waiting for the two boys. "How's Jimmy?" Abby asked her brother when she saw him come in.

"Sore, but he's gonna be alright. Dad, could I have a word in private?" he asked his father.

Chris agreed and the two stepped into the office where it was more private. "I assume he told you," the older man said immediately.

"No, I just kind of came to the conclusion and he confirmed it." Brad looked at his father with tears in his eyes, "I don't understand how Nona could just stand by and watch that happen to her son," Brad said as his father held him tight.

The Starfleet officer held his son close; "I know; I don't understand wither but he's here and he's safe; that's all I care about. Now, really how is he?"

"A mess of bruising but nothing's broken; there is a possible crack in at least two of his ribs but I'll bind them before he goes to bed, he should be good in a few days. Otherwise he just needs some rest and a decent meal, he looks like he's lost some weight since I saw him a couple of weeks ago," Brad commented. He had come up to the Academy to see his father but made it a point to stop in and check on Jim. They had gone to lunch and talked a little before Brad had to leave but overall Jim looked much healthier then as opposed to now.

Jim came out of the shower and put on the clothes that Diane had laid out for him. "Feeling better?" a voice asked from the doorway once he was dressed. The young man nodded and moved to lay down on the bed, "Oh no you don't, dinners on the table and Brad wants you to ice your back," Justin said stopping his 'little brother' from going back to bed, "Training accident, huh," he said and Jim could only nodded as the older young man lead him out the door. "Now come on, mom made your favorite," he said putting his arm around Jim as they walked out to the dining room.

"Bout time, that god awful smell was about to kill us all," Taylor teased as she sat down next to her sister. "Terrible Jimmy, how could you possibly like this?" she asked him as he stiffly took his seat next to Diane as she put a plate of her meatloaf and mashed potatoes in front of him.

The youngest smirked and shrugged painfully at his sisters comment, "I know I still don't understand it, it's the easiest recipe on the planet but yet it still seems wrong every time its made in this house," Brad teased.

"All right enough, let's eat, if its edible," Justin said as the rest of the Pike children laughed. It was a well known fact that Mrs. Pikes' specialty was not Jim's favorite food but she still tired for him on a few occasions throughout the year even if it was just sending it with Chris to the dorm.

Chris said grace and they all started eating but Jim really wasn't eating he was more playing in his food. "James, aren't you hungry?" Kara asked.

He looked up from his plate to see Chris looking at him but the rest of the children pretended that they didn't hear their sisters comment. "I'm just tired," he said quietly before setting down his fork. "May I be excused?" he asked.

Chris nodded and looked at Brad, "Oh, yeah, let's get those ribs wrapped kiddo," he said wiping his mouth with his napkin before excusing himself.

"Thanks," Jim said as Brad took his time wrapping his brothers ribs and while applying some pain relieving salve to the bruises on his back.

"Okay, now I'm going to put the ice on; the salve will burn a little at first but its going to feel a thousand times better in the morning. You just try to sleep, I'll come remove the ice pack in about thirty minutes," he said as he set the ice into position and tried to sooth his brother as Jim hissed in pain. "You're okay, just give it a minute," Brad cooed as he gently rubbed the back of his brothers neck. "There, all better, now rest James; I'll be back," the young doctor said before he got up and left the room, but didn't close the door all the way.

Jim fell into a deep sleep minutes after Brad left him and he didn't even feel him remove the ice or tuck him in later that evening. By early afternoon Jim was still in bed asleep and the Pikes were all doing their own activities but each of them would periodically go check on the youngest because they were worried. "I know that Brad said that Jimmy was going to be tired because he's hurt but its lunchtime and he hadn't eaten since god knows how long," Kara said to Justin as they were clearing the table.

Chris' second eldest son smirked, "He's tired baby, the Academy isn't easy and Jimmy's doing really well. Just let him get caught up on his sleep. I'm sure he'll be back to annoying you by tomorrow," he assured his sister. Kara nodded at his words but couldn't help but go check on Jim once they were finished. She found the young man just finishing coming out of the bathroom dressed in a clean tee shirt and ratty jeans. He may have only been three years younger than her but he was still like her big brother and right now he looked a high school senior who just lost his starting spot to a freshman, it was pitiful.

"Hey KK," Jim said with a tired smile as he gave her a big hug.

"Hey Jimmy, are you feeling better?" she asked him. He shrugged, "Brad said you had a training accident. I hope you didn't hurt yourself too much, I thought we could do some snowboarding tomorrow."

Jim cringed, "We'll see KK, I'm really sore," Jim admitted as he stomach growled loudly.

"Guess we better get you something to eat. You missed lunch but I'm sure we can find something for you," she said pulling him out of the bedroom and toward the kitchen. Ten minutes later Jim had a tuna sandwich, some fresh fruit, chips and a glass of milk in front of him as he sat at the island in the kitchen. "Need anything else?"

The cadet shook his head since his mouth was full, "I see you finally decided to join the land of the living," Brad teased as he ruffled Jim's messy hair. "How's everything?" he asked as he lifted the back of the young man's shirt looking at Jim's lower back.

Jim shivered and pulled away, "Hands off Doc, your hands are freaking freezing!" Jim exclaimed before taking another bite of his sandwich, "Sore but manageable, although, I wouldn't turn down some painkillers if you were offering," he said honestly as Chris and Diane joined them all in the kitchen.

Brad laughed and went over to the cabinet and got him two pills, "Take with food, which of course means now kiddo," Brad said handing the pills to Jim. The cadet looked at them suspiciously before looking back at Brad, "Don't worry, just a mild pain reliever, it won't knock you out. Jeez, McCoy has you trained good; I'm gonna have to ask him about his hypo maneuvers…" Brad was saying but his mother cut him off as Jim popped the pills in his mouth and took a drink of milk.

"Ah, Jimmy, you're up. I hope you're feeling better because tonight, it's a trip to town to get the tree, then family dinner," Diane said as kissed his temple. "Oh honey, if you were hungry I could have made you something tangible," the older woman said with a scowl at his meal as he took a huge bite to finish off his sandwich.

Jim frantically shook his head and grabbed her sleeve, "This is perfect," he said around his bite. The older woman smiled at him and shook her head before clearing his plate as he reached for the last part of his sandwich quickly. Diane rolled her eyes at her godson's innocent face as he hide the sandwich that she disliked behind his back. "Love you Aunt D," he called out as he headed out with Brad and Kara to meet the rest of the family out in the driveway.

"Love you too James, be good," she teased. Chris smirked at his wife, "Oh that boy is too adorable for his own good, no wonder the girls are all over him."

Chris smiled, "True, but I need to talk to you about something, I just got a phone call," he said seriously.

"Nona?" she asked looking up.

"Yes, she wants Jim to come home," he told her sitting down. "And…"

"And I hope you told her no because that boy isn't going anywhere and I swear to you Christopher if you didn't, I promise you it will sure as hell be a very cold rest of the year for you," Mrs. Pike snapped.

Chris winced at his wife's tone and took a step back, "Honey…" he started but another voice stopped them.

"Please don't make me go back," Jim begged from the doorway with a look of panic on his face. Diane's face turned from a scowl to a look of sympathy, "Please Sir, don't make me go back," Jim said with tears coming down his face.

Chris sighed, "Jim… Son, you're not going anywhere you don't want to, I promise you," he said going over to the young man and pulling him close. "This is your home for as long as you chose it to be. I will never let anything happen to you again," he said as Jim returned the hug.

They all exited the kitchen a few minutes later after Jim had composed himself enough to go in search of the perfect Christmas tree. Diane stayed close by Jim while everyone was scouring for the right tree. "You doing okay baby?" she asked him as she put an arm around his shoulders. The youngest shrugged and sat down on a bench with her after a few minutes of walking. "I always liked it here," she said looking around the area. Jim stayed silent but he looked at her curiously as if he was waiting for her to tell him why. "Because its peaceful, everyone is always so happy here and smiling, like every other problem in the world doesn't exist."

Jim smiled at her and lay head on her shoulder like he used to when he was a little boy. "I wish it could be like that all the time," he said as she took her hand from his shoulder to his head and gently ran her hands through his messy hair.

"I know baby, but you're here with us and then you'll go back to school and I'll come up and see you once a week, okay?" she asked him. Jim nodded and relaxed into her touch, it was the first time in a long time that he let his guard down completely. "No matter how old you get or where you end up you're always my baby, you got that Jimmy," she asked clearly.

He smiled up at her, "Yes ma'am."

"All right, we think we found it…" Brad said coming over to his mother about a half hour later and he noticed Jimmy seemingly napping in her arms. "Hey, you okay buddy?" he asked kneeling in front of Jim.

The young cadet opened his eyes and nodded at his brother, "Yeah, I'm okay," he whispered. "Just been a rough couple of days."

Brad nodded and ruffled Jimmy's messy hair, "I hear ya, now let's go get this tree and get home before you decided napping in the freezing cold is your new form of excitement," Brad teased as he pulled Jim up and they headed over to the rest of the family. "So we good?" Brad asked his dad.

Pike looked at his kids and Jimmy and Brad coming up behind them with his wife and he smiled, "Yes, I believe we are. Let's go home."

Once they got home they all decorated the tree and while the kids finished Diane and Chris sat back and watched as they all teased each other. Jim and Brad were tickling Kara and Taylor while Justin and Abby laughed hysterically. "I think we finally have the complete package it just took one former juvenile delinquent godson for us to realize it," Chris said as he sipped his coffee. Everyone was having such a great time that no one heard the bell rung except Abby since she was so close to the door.

"Aunt Nona! What a surprise, um come in sorry," she said stepping back away from the door. "Daddy, look who's here," Abby said taking her father's friend into the living room where everyone was still goofing around.

Chris' eyes widened as everyone stopped to see who had just entered. Jim froze at the sight of his mother, Brad saw the look on his face and he decided it would be a good idea to get Jim out of there. "Hey, Jimmy why don't we go get you another pain pill and we'll set the table for dinner," he said getting Jim's attention. Jim nodded and Brad ushered him out of the room, "You okay buddy?" Brad asked as he sat Jim down in a barstool and got the pills.

"Why is she here?" he asked quietly.

Brad gave him a sympathetic look as he gave the pills to him with a glass of milk, "Don't take that yet," the doctor told him. Jim looked at him in confusion, "Take with food, remember?" he said making Jim smirk before he nodded as Brad went around the island to make him something to eat.

"Why would she come here? She watched what happened and she didn't stop it," Jim told Brad quietly.

"I don't know buddy," he said as he pulled out some cheese and tortillas, "How about a quesadilla to go with that pill? You think your stomach can handle that?" he asked, knowing how Jim's stomach tends to react when he's worried. Jim nodded his approval so Brad started making him a snack so he could take his medicine.

"Hey B," Jim said quietly as the older man set the plate in front of him as they heard the muffled sounds of shouting in the other end of the house.

"Yeah Jimmy?" he asked looking up at him from the dishes a couple of minutes later.

"Can I get something to knock me out; I really just want to get some sleep."

Brad shook his head and pointed at his still full plate. "Sorry buddy, I can't do that, and neither can you. You need to face this Jimmy, but you're not going to have to do this alone, I'm here and so is everyone else. You really think that we'd let Nona, take you away from us," Brad said ruffling the cadet's hair. Jim smiled at him and shrugged before taking a bite of the quesadilla and then popping the pills in his mouth.

Brad and Jimmy set the table after Jim finished his quesadilla and by the time they were done Nona was still there but Jim had yet to talk to her as she helped Diane and the girls make dinner. "Let's all sit down, we'll have a nice dinner and then we'll all get some sleep," Justin said leading everyone into the dining room as Diane brought out the vegetables. "Now, Aunt Nona, you sit here and Jimmy, come sit by me tonight. Everybody good, okay, great let's eat."


End file.
